Chapter 228 and a half: Waiting For Their Return
by Zephyr'ren
Summary: Chapter 228 from Setta's side of things. Major spoilers for Chapter 229. You have been warned.


**Chapter 228.5: Waiting For Their Return**

**A/N:** SPOILERS for Chapter 229. You have been warned. Also going on a limb that Tess refers to Setta as Uncle, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Why...

_If we have the mission to make this world a better place, I want the people dear to me to live in that world as long as possible._

He could agree with his brother on that statement, so why...

_This base is safe, because Lord Setta -_

He didn't deserve that reverence.

_- A magician with the "Divine Staff" is protecting us!_

His borg barely withstood the blast of magic aimed towards him, holding out long enough for him to hoarsely shout to the masses to flee. It was unnecessary; those who could were already doing so. A multitude of blasts had rained down upon them, destroying buildings, and leaving blackened bodies in craters where they struck.

Screams and chaos permeated the once peaceful compound.

He heard them, the screams and shouts for their only hope, _Lord Setta, Lord Setta..._

There was no way he could protect everyone, he was the weakest one after all, there was no-

A fearful, small voice broke his train of thought. "Mama! Mama! I'm so scared, save me..."

Setta put on a strained smile that threatened to become grim as he looked down to the little boy. "Tess, follow the others. Run away, as quickly as you can." His eyes were on the twelve Divine Staff wielders as they approached. There was no mistake as to who they were.

The child frowned, then let out a gasp then a choked sobbed. "D-d-does this mean... Mama... Papa..."

"No!" Setta found himself saying immediately, turning back to the child. "Your parents, my brother, and everyone- They'll be back to save everyone," he assured the boy. "Now please-"

Lights above them flared, and he focused, swinging his staff in an arc as he did so. A barrier of ice was erected above them, directly in the path of the oncoming magical blasts. He clung onto his magic desperately, the blasts shaking him to the core.

A hush seemed to sweep over the chaos as the glittering, frozen barrier appeared. Many even stopped running just to stare, to his dismay.

"DON'T STOP RUNNING!" His roar echoed over the unnatural quiet that had settled, and was only punctuated by the shattering of his ice barrier. Frozen dust rained upon them, a beautiful sight, if not for the circumstances. Perhaps they saw his horrified expression, or perhaps simply his words were enough. Or perhaps, more likely, it was the continuation of the magical blasts striking at their base.

The chaos and movement resumed.

Gritting his teeth, he flung icicles at the oncoming magicians with another sweep of his staff. That barrier hadn't been a light task and he could already feel exhaustion creeping in.

"Tess-"

"No! I won't be a coward!" The boy suddenly said, latching onto Setta's free arm. "I believe you will protect us until Mama and Papa and everyone else comes back!"

He knew that his brother and the others were still alive. They had made a miscalculation, but they would definitely return to the base, and... He had to hold off their attackers until then. This time, his smile wasn't as strained as earlier. It came naturally, as he spoke to Falan's and Wahid's child.

"You're not a coward, Tess. Your father didn't mean to say that... I know your parents will be very happy if you found the best secret hiding spot and stayed there until they came back."

"What about you, Uncle Setta?"

"I... I'll hold them off!" He illustrated his point by summoning a second, larger barrier that halted the enemy's advance. "Now, please go."

Tess finally nodded, and disappeared into the fleeing crowd.

"Ahh... So they only left one Divine Staff wielder to protect their base." The drawl chilled his spine. They shouldn't be that close, not close enough for him to hear them so clearly.

His ice barrier hadn't shattered into dust yet, and looked rather whole. No blasts or any other attacks struck it, and it stayed solidly positioned between their enemies, and-

All twelve appeared before him, one of the Elders levelling his staff at him. "So weak."

Struck at various points by a multitude of icicles, he found himself being blown back into one of the few still intact walls, pinned by the icicles that pierced his body clean through. Blood seeped from where the ice struck, staining his torn clothes, and his crimson sash a darker maroon shade. They had purposely missed any lethal points, and he could only concentrate on breathing evenly to keep the shock and panic at bay.

His barrier broke, the large pieces of ice dropping to the earth, not discriminating between structures and those trying to get away.

He had to stall them. "Was that the best the twelve of you could do?" He asked mockingly in an uncharacteristic tone. The blurred figures shifted and moved, and he couldn't tell what they were doing as he squinted, struggling to see without his glasses.

"Do not waste time." The eerily familiar voice addressed the other eleven Divine Staff wielders, before turning to him.

His shattered glasses were placed back on his face, but even through the cracks and missing pieces, Setta knew exactly who he was staring at. The man smirked at him, then, his wounds burned hot.

His body burned, and his mind was groggy despite- or was it_ due _to the pain? He cracked his eyes open and slowly tilted his head up from his face down position. He was met with barren blackness. No, it wasn't barren. His eyes widened. The field was littered with rubble, and the blackened remains of bodies. They were everywhere, and went as far as he could see through his cracked glasses.

"Oh? So you woke up after all. How interesting. Your ice magic managed to delay the flames, but after eight minutes, it seems like it's beginning to run out."

Turning to face the speaker, his body protested in an extreme way. He then realized that he could no longer feel any of his limbs, and that the burning feeling was only around his chest. He decided to abort the motion of staring at the speaker, as well as trying to judge his own current condition.

He knew from the beginning, as soon as he saw them approaching.

"...Why?" Why are you here? Why did you do this? Why did you kill everyone?

He knew that he wouldn't live to see his brother, or any of the others again.

So why... He knew they wouldn't answer him, and his eyelids began to droop. He hardly even felt his own body slowly burning anymore.

"This is the last one. The little brat managed to hide well," A new voice sneered, appearing within his field of vision.

"Mama... Papa..." The familiar voiced whimpered.

Setta's eyes widened, then blurred. Tears began to roll down his sooty cheeks as he realized what was inevitably going to happen. What he couldn't stop. No. No... Why...

"...I'm so scared..."

Why wasn't he able to help anyone? If only...

The child shrieked as his small body suddenly erupted into flames and was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. "Ahh! Mama... Papa... Please..."

"I've bound his soul to his body for the next five minutes." The voice was the same as the one who had brought the child to his demise.

"Hmm... They are almost finished. That should be enough time," David commented, from where he stood behind the fallen magician.

"It's so hot... Help..."

"No..." Setta shut his eyes tightly even as tears continued to flow, wishing his could shut his ears as well. No... If the child was still crying when Falan and Wahid returned... He could feel his heart drop into the flames that were currently consuming him. Each breath was becoming harder to take.

"This staff?"

"Leave it for them to find."

He could feel their presence disappearing, leaving him the sole survivor in the brutal massacre.

"I'm so scared... Mama... Papa..."

He didn't know how long he lay there for, with his tears still running down his face. Neither did he know how much longer it would take for the flames to consume him, if his body didn't shut down first. He prayed that it would be soon, if only because of Tess' ghastly cries. It was cowardly of him, he knew, to want to escape from that which reminded him of his inability to save anyone.

"It's so hot... Help me..."

He had the easiest task... and he failed. No, he knew that they had all made a grave error.

But despite his efforts, not a single person had escaped alive. He knew that he was going to die, when he first saw them approach. He knew hw would die trying to hold them off. So why was it that he could save no one? Of the hundreds, and thousands, who lived in the base, not a single person survived.

"Help me..."

Tess' voice was fading, but time held no meaning for him since the start of the attack. How many minutes has it been? The five minutes had to be up before Solomon and the others returned. What he did know was that his own time was finally almost up.

"Ma... Pa... hot..."

He felt them.

"...Tess?"

The nothing.

_God, protect my brother and comrades, please. _

_They are the people necessary for 'Alma Torran'..._


End file.
